BC Partners wins fight to buy Con Hem for £1.6bn
PRIVATE equity firm BC Partners is set to buy Swedish cable company Com Hem, in a deal that will value the firm at about 17bn crowns (£1.6bn), one of the largest buyouts in Europe this year, people familiar with the situation said.
BC Partners beat rival Cinven to acquire the business, owned by Carlyle Group and Providence, that is Sweden’s market leader and provides digital TV, broadband and telephony to more than 800,000 customers across the country.
The deal follows on the heels of Bain and Hellman & Friedman’s agreement to buy Swedish alarms firm Securitas Direct, Europe’s largest buyout this year.
It also marks the first investment by BC Partners from its ninth buyout fund, which earlier this week secured about €5.5bn from investors for new deals.